Overwatering: When Your Tree’s Had One Too Many Drinks

Trees are adapted to a wide range of situations, but it can be easy to assume that what works for one species will work for another. This is especially true when it comes to watering trees and other plants that are placed very close to one another in your yard. If you’re worried that your trees are being overwatered, here’s what you need to know:

Why Overwatering Harms Plants

When you overwater a plant, you saturate its roots and crowd out the oxygen it needs to breathe. Of course, different plants have different watering needs, and while one plant may love wet soil, another may sicken in such conditions. Knowing what each species prefers is necessary.

Overwatering occurs for many reasons:

Poorly draining or compacted soils

Sloped sites that accumulate water at the bottom

Placement under eaves or gutters

Overenthusiastic gardeners

How to Determine If Your Tree Is Overwatered

If your tree is getting sick, wilting or mushrooms are growing around the base of your tree; this is generally a sign of overwatering. Other signs include leaves that are light green, yellow, or brittle.

Damage Control

The most important first step, as indicated above, is to take your cue from the tree itself. Having a set schedule for watering the trees in your yard is a bad idea, because you’ll likely be overwatering some or under-watering others. When you water trees, the soil around the tree should generally be moist rather than soggy. This is especially true of seedlings.

As a long-term solution, try to place trees with similar watering requirements in the same areas, or “hydrozones.” For instance, you might plant willows, river birch and other plants with a high tolerance in wet, streamside areas. Move trees that can’t handle moisture to dryer spots.

If you lose a tree or two on your way to landscape heaven, don’t sweat it. It’s hard to see to the needs of every species, especially when they’re different. If you’d like a second opinion or you need a dead tree removed, feel free to contact Premier Tree Solutions today through this form: http://www.chopmytree.com/contact-form/.

https://www.chopmytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/wet-ground.jpg6231365choptreeadminhttps://www.chopmytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-3.pngchoptreeadmin2015-09-28 20:44:092017-09-14 11:21:37Overwatering: When Your Tree’s Had One Too Many Drinks

Your trees are the backbone of your yard: large, elegant, overarching, providing shade and lovely dappled light. When something begins to ail a tree, however, it can be troubling, especially when you don’t know what’s wrong. If you think your tree might be suffering from pesky pests or deleterious diseases, it’s important to seek treatment for the tree as soon as possible to avoid long-term damage.

Below you’ll get a crash course on the various types of pests and diseases, signs your tree might be infected, and what to do about it.

Types of Tree Pests and Diseases

There are too many types of pests to mention in one blog, but they fall into two main categories: microorganisms and insects. Insects (such as caterpillars, aphids, flies, and thrips) eat parts of trees. Diseases are pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi that invade your tree’s systems externally or internally and cause it to become sick.

Signs of Disease or Pest Predation

If you see any of the following diseases, you should seek the advice of a professional as soon as possible:

Limp or wilted leaves and shoots

Light green, yellow, or brown leaves

Leaves falling off the tree out of season

Patches of bark falling off

Scales, scores, or tunnels along the outside of the park

Nests or webs on leaves and branches

Small bugs or insects crawling along the tree

Twisted, misshapen, closed, or dead blossoms

Save My Tree!

The good news is that just because you’ve identified a pest, that doesn’t mean you can’t save your tree. There are several steps you can take, including:

Treating the pest with soaps, sprays, oils, or other treatments

Pruning the tree to get rid of diseased leaves, branches, and limbs

Hand removal of pests

Use of predator insects to eat pest insects

And often, while one tree will need to be removed because it is too far-gone, you can still save other trees in the area by acting fast. If you don’t feel equipped to handle pruning or tree removal jobs on your own (especially large, established trees), don’t hesitate to contact Premier Tree Solutions through this form: http://www.chopmytree.com/contact-form/.

https://www.chopmytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/tree-pest.jpg6231365choptreeadminhttps://www.chopmytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-3.pngchoptreeadmin2015-09-05 20:46:272017-09-14 11:21:15What's Bugging My Tree? How to Tell If Your Tree Has a Disease